A Member of Parliament (MP) from Tony Abbott's socially conservative Liberal party in Australia has opened up about his support for same-sex marriage.

'I support the right of same-sex couples to have their loving and committed relationships recognized in state-sanctioned marriage,' said 23-year-old Wyatt Roy, parliament's youngest MP.

However Roy is currently barred from voting for same-sex marriage legislation because Abbott is not allowing opposition Liberal-National coalition MPs a conscience vote on the matter.

As part of a stand against Australian laws prohibiting same-sex marriages, a gay man is planning to marry a lesbian bride at a demonstration in Brisbane.

Chad St James, a student filmmaker and gay rights activist is marrying lesbian Kristan Walker this Sunday (26 May) forming what has been described as a government endorsed ‘gay’ marriage.

On Facebook, the gay husband-to-be said ‘needless to say I'm all kinds of nervous and stressed’ about marrying Kristan, a fellow marriage equality activist.

Trans activists were left ‘despairing and angry’ at England and Wales’ equal marriage bill saying they have been betrayed by the British government and LGBT allies.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill passed its third reading in Britain’s House of Commons last night with Members of Parliament voting 366 to 161 in favor of the legislation on Tuesday (21 May).

The bill now has to pass through the House of Lords where it will face opposition but the government appears determined to ensure it passes.

Australia's finance minister Penny Wong has slammed the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) for comparing the children of gay couples to the 'stolen generations' of aboriginal children who were taken from their families.

'Redefining marriage ignore[s] the consequence of robbing children of their biological identity through same-sex surrogacy and other assisted reproductive technologies,' said ACL's managing director Lyle Shelton yesterday.

Wong, who has a one-year-old daughter with her partner Sophie Allouache and is a practicing Christian, said:

In response to Vietnam marching ahead of other Asian nations towards legalizing same-sex marriage, a gay Vietnamese-Canadian fashion design lecturer who lives in Ho Chi Minh City said that the country is not ready for marriage equality.

Legalizing gay marriage would not make Vietnam '"cool" when it has failed to acknowledge other gay rights issues', Valentine Vu writes in an editorial for Tuoitre News.

Former President Bill Clinton is using his still considerable political clout to try and get Illinois to become the 13th state in the US to make gay marriage legal.

Proposed marriage equality legislation, already passed by the State Senate, has been stalled for some time in the Illinois House of Representatives.

In a statement released Tuesday (21 May) Clinton urged members of the House to pass the bill before the legislature adjourns its spring session on 31 May.

Supporters of a plan to allow humanists to conduct weddings, for gay and straight couples, in England and Wales have pulled their proposal after a debate in parliament.

British Members of Parliament (MPs) spent several hours debating the amendment put forward to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales today (21 May) in the House of Commons.

But now they have pulled it awaiting more information from the government on how to overcome legal challenges their amendment may face.

Gays marrying will lead to a lesbian queen giving birth to a future monarch by artificial insemination, a former Tory chairman has warned.

Lord Tebbit, 82, also told the Big Issue magazine the legislation in England and Wales could also allow him to marry his son to escape inheritance tax.

Church of England bosses have forced their own leader – Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby – to pull support for straight civil partnerships.

It is part of their official response to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales which the government is currently pushing through the UK parliament and which will be debated again today.

The Church of England is the state religion of Britain and its bishops will have a vote on the legislation when it reaches the House of Lords.

Conservative party in-fighting and an amendment giving straight couples civil partnerships could delay the England and Wales equal marriage bill for up to two years.

The bill, which returns to the House of Commons today (20 May), is the subject of fierce debate among members of parliament. It will be voted on after two days of discussion.

Members of parliament, led by Tory Tim Loughton, have tabled an amendment expanding civil partnerships to include heterosexual couples.

Former senator Brian Greig said that Australia's resistance to legalizing gay marriage is preventing much-need skilled workers from immigrating there.

'Our nation's increasing isolation on this matter is impacting recruitment and employment mobility,' wrote Greig in an editorial for Sydney Morning Herald.

British political party Labour has announced they have abandoned support for a 'wrecking' amendment supporting opposite-sex civil partnerships today (20 May).

Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary and the Shadow Equalities Minister, has announced Labour will table its own amendment.

As outlined on The World At One, she explained the amendment would establish 'an immediate consultation on opposite-sex civil partnerships', which, she said, could begin even before the bill has completed its parliamentary pasage.